Pages Left To Write On (We Will Fill It With Words)
by youlooklikethunder
Summary: In which I live a Pond Life and so that means I have need of various one-shots (some two parters) of mostly PondCentric family moments; meaning here you will find strictly the father-daughterness/mother-daughterness bonding that hardly got any screentime with some space idiot/wife one dayness on the side. So without further ado I am starting this series with father-daughter feels.
1. Marked By The Absence Of Melodies (1)

**_Pages Left To Write On (We Will Fill It With Words) - _**1/?

**Chapter One: **Marked By The Absence Of Melodies (1/2)  
Characters: Rory, River  
Rated: G  
Summary: _"This is River Song, I'm not in my cell presently but I will break back in sooner or later. Leave a message if you like and, who knows, I may even get back to you sometime this century."_ - Rory stays behind when Brian catches a cold and makes a phone call while the wife is away.  
**DISCLAIMER**: Not my characters. This has been a disclaimer.  
AN: Fic Title & Chapter title inspired by/from the book _The Time Traveller's Wife_ by Audrey Niffenegger. The timeline for Rory takes place post-6x08 (_Let's Kill Hitler_), about a month after dropping River off at Sisters Of Infinite Schism ; for River post-6x02 (_Day Of The Moon). RATINGS MAY VARY._

* * *

His dad had unfortunately caught a very nasty case of the sniffles that go around this time of year. It's the first time in forever that's Rory stayed behind when the Doctor comes around. Then again the only reason he'd been left behind before was because he was not aware of his fiance running off into all of time and space with a space idiot - as River often called him, of which he undoubtedly was at times. At least he knows of it now. Of the Doctor, of the amazing wonders of the universe... of his very own daughter. Being aware of them meant he'd come to love them all, unconventional as they were they'd become a family. A pretty great one at that.

It had been the right thing to do. One should always make looking after their dads a priority after all. So far, in 'Rory Time', Amy's only been gone for the weekend but knowing the Doctor's habit of wandering his wife might have been several weeks away. No matter. Time alone was odd but he made due. Actually, during that time he'd had time to think about the last adventure with the Doctor and how he'd been avoiding what had happened.

Like dads, daughters also fall under the category of priorities only they should be right at the top of the list.

"_This is River Song, I'm not in my cell presently but I will break back in sooner or later. Leave a message if you like and, who knows, I may even get back to you sometime this century._"

It takes a while for Rory to realize he'd been holding his breath during the entirety of River's answer machine message. To say he was nervous would be an understatement. He waited patiently for that little sound to go off. The one that meant he could start talking. Well… it came, and every single ounce of courage he'd mustered to make this phone call slipped away, gone and out of his reach. His throat closed up in a wretched way. It was the one that happened when Mels outed his feelings for Amy all those years back.

And just like that, his mind was spiraling off into itself and sorting through every single memory he had of Amy and their best friend Mels and himself.

_My own daughter set me up with her mum. _He swallows, a twisted sort of affection entwining with an equal amount of dread at the entire situation, and then it dawns on him. _That's why… that's the reason Mels hadn't come to our wedding. The wedding night… the night Amy and I… when we…_

Rory felt sick to his stomach. It was one thing for their daughter to have gotten her own parents together but it was a completely different thing for their daughter knowingly having to avoid them on their wedding day because she'd be created that very night. Yes, oh yes, this was too much.

All the things, these impossible, inconceivable things that have come to make up their life – the three of them – feels so overwhelming. How queer and difficult and mindboggling it is to be caught in this tangled sort of web throughout all of time and space. The times they've met, whether on purpose or just out of the blue, he realizes what they are now. They're miracles and as he's come to learn miracles come with a cost. He can feel the pressure that weighs down now that he knows and is aware of them. How once things have happened they would have to keep on happening exactly as they had and there is no changing their pasts or it was their futures that would suffer for it. All of these incidents, each and every one, the good and the bad, more often than not they manage to take his breath away, to crush every ounce of his heart.

Then the grief sets in, because it's not fair. He has a daughter but the only way he will ever know of her meant he'd always have to lose her first in order to get to this point. It's a hard thing to accept. He's not sure if he ever will. And Amy's even less likely to do so. He knows how it eats her up inside. Losing Melody has marked them both but each in different ways. Sometimes it's hard to relate to each other in their separate experience of their shared loss but no matter how horrible a nightmare they had been lucky enough to have ended up lost together; together, because together they can do and get through anything .

Overtaken by his little meltdown, Rory hadn't realize the call he'd made had been disconnected. All that played back at him was the dial tone. He pressed the _end call_ button and sat in silence for a bit.

He mulls over the mess of it all and snaps out of it, annoyed by his own analytical thoughts because he's been looking at them wrong. He almost wishes Amy were around to slap him in the face because in all his brooding there's one massive key point that's managed to go right over his head. Their lives should have been enough to tear them apart inside and out but it _hadn't_. They weren't a proper mess. Their lives were messy, yes, but _they_ were not at all a mess. In fact, countless memories were mess free. Like his 15th birthday, for instance. He woke up to find a brand new car parked in front of his parent's driveway and a birthday note resting on its windshield. A birthday note signed with an initial rather than her name.

He remembers being so confused. He hadn't even know Mels cared enough to know when his birthday was. He'd certainly never told her but she'd still known and she'd gone and gotten (_STOLEN_!) him a car, his favorite car.

Then he'd gone and read the birthday card.

_Rory, her name is Snogbox and consider her a 'Get On With It Already' present because honestly mate just snog the girl already._

Gods, he'd been absolutely mortified that someone had caught on to his crush yet it was disappointment he'd felt the most. He'd given Mels a proper scolding for that one and she'd smiled all through that hour long reproach. She was smug and gleeful by the time he'd finished and so he'd assumed she took none of his upset to heart – this was Mels he was talking to after all – and he even found himself responding in kind. Smiling at those insolent, reckless ways of hers, ultimately thanking her for the highly illegal gift It must have taken an awful amount of effort to pull it all off and all for his benefit. Making her return it was also a highlight.

He knows why she smiled now. That scolding had been their first, their proper first. She's been born on Demon's Run but she'd been stolen from him. There had been no starting to the father and daughter_ness_ until that very day, his 15th birthday. Knowing Mels for so long also meant he'd practically been a father ever single day of his life he'd just not realized it yet.

Rory looked back down at the phone he had clutched in his hand. He dialed the number to his daughter's cell again. When her answering message was done, Rory cleared his throat and he spoke.

"River! Hi, erm, hello. It's uh… it's your Dad. R-Rory, I mean. It's me, your Dad… Rory. I was just wondering if you'd like to pop in for a cuppa or maybe we could go out for scones or... anything. I could take you to buy bullets for your guns even or... erm, anything at all. Right. Absolutely Dad's treat, yeah?"

Pathetically, his awkward sense of self came back and he'd gone and ended the call without even so much as a Goodbye. Oh, the shame that overcame him.

"Oh, good one, Rory. Well done." He muttered to himself.

"I'll say!" said a voice full of mirth.

Rory turned to find none other than River Song.

_To Be Continued…_


	2. Marked By The Absence Of Melodies (2)

**So I was taken to the hospital on the 23rd (yes, you read that right, on THE DW PREMIERE DAY and I missed the first episode I was so upset) and have since been recovering and that's why the ginormous lack of updates is happening. Please forgive me for that and also because I oops-ed and all I have to show for it now is the angst. Next part will be a bit chipper, I promise.**

**Chapter Two: **Marked By The Absence Of Melodies (2/2)

Characters: Rory, River  
Rated: G  
Summary: _"You're safe now." He says, then decides adding on something entirely of his own. "You're home." _- Things get much more complicated when Rory wears his nursing goggles and notices things.  
**DISCLAIMER**: Not my characters. This has been a disclaimer.  
AN: Fic Title & Chapter title inspired by/from the book _The Time Traveller's Wife_ by Audrey Niffenegger. The timeline for Rory takes place post-6x08 (_Let's Kill Hitler_), about a month after dropping River off at Sisters Of Infinite Schism ; for River post-6x02 (_Day Of The Moon). RATINGS MAY VARY._

* * *

It's a bit unnerving to be so suddenly not alone and Rory's honestly not got a bastard clue as to where he intended on starting off. River, who is standing almost impeccably still in his presence, sort of beams as his ineptness. He stares at the woman he knows to be his daughter for longer than is necessary and recons if Amy were there she'd have already pointed this out to him at full volume. He's grateful to be spared of that but then again, without Amy there, he's on his own and he's honestly not sure he can get by without need of a little help.

"You rang." River prompts, the brow she has raised tells him at least she's getting some comedic value at how out of depth he is. But _bless her_, he thinks, because that gets his head in the right of him.

"I didn't expect you so soon." Rory hurries in admitting. He even waves the phone he still has in his hands for added measure. "See, just made the call and everything."

River's nose wrinkles up and to his surprise she apologizes.

He frowns. "What for?"

She waves it away with a hand and starts asking after Amy. He tells her she's off on her own this time and River looks even more unsettled than before.

"Oh," she mutters a tad bit distractedly and starts moving out of the room, heading off into the kitchen. He's left with no choice but to follow after her.

The cupboards are banging away as she reaches for contents to make a cup of tea. Her actions are so effortless and knowing, so _at-home-here_, that he wonders how often she's around at theirs, his and Amy's.

"You know it should be me fixing that." He says conversationally and she glances at him. He's completely off put by the smile she offers him. It doesn't fill her face up the way he's used to. He's never seen River, or Mels for that matter, as anything but a force to be reckoned with but there something off, something that makes him want to reach out and put both hands on her shoulders until she wipes that smile off and sets some truth in her features.

"Are you alright, River?"

"I'm absolutely fine." However smooth her delivery and however steady her eyes are on his, her hands are all a jitter. It takes him all but a round of seconds to slip on his nursing goggles and then he looks, properly looks… and then he notices.

"You're," he swallows the words. They seem to be on the tip of his tongue but they're not exactly the most cooperative either. So there they stand, all gone silent but for the stirring River has now resumed. She finishes preparing her tea and calmly takes a sip. She doesn't deny his assumption, not in any way, and he mentally makes a checklist of all the pregnancy-friendly teas he'll pick up next time he's at the grocers.

"Where are you exactly?" River asks him at last. When he fails to do anything but gape at her like a fish she carries on. "I've just come back from America."

"America." He repeats. "Yes, I've done America too actually."

River nods, calm but passive. In fact the only emotion he can really read off her is resignation. "And going by how you called yourself 'dad' in that message you left on my answering machine you've also done Berlin."

Rory cringes. Now or never.

"Just done, actually." Her eyes widen a fraction at this. "Dropped you off at the hospital and that's the last we've saw of you."

"Oh," and she huffs out a breathless sort of laughter, her hand falling to rest on her chest as if it could somehow reach in and take grip of her stuttering heart. "Then all this really is far too early for you."

That brave face of hers, really the only one he's ever known her to wear, now fully crumbles to bits. Rory's up and moving before anything else can be said. He's pulling River, his Melody, over into his arms and wrapping them securely around her.

He thinks of the grown woman he and Amy left behind in the hospital in their last adventure with the Doctor, how completely indestructible she had been, even then, and then he considers the one in his arms here and now. River is burrowing against him almost instinctually, trusting in his comforts completely.

America comes at him. Utah. The running and the Silence. Of River and following her into those underground tunnels at the Doctor's request. She had been scared down there in those tunnels but it had nothing to do with an alien takeover.

_I just felt a bit sick. It's the prison food, probably._

She'd gone and Rule One'd him and he hadn't had a clue. He recalls the following confessions that came spilling from her mouth so easily. Naturally, he'd wondered why him? She seemed to get on with Amy better anyway.

_When I first met the Doctor, a long, long time ago, he knew all about me. _

He knows now, god does he know.

_The day is coming when I'll look into that man's eyes, my Doctor, and he won't have the faintest idea who I am._

She was scared little girl looking to daddy to make all the bad things go away.

_And I think it's going to kill me._

He finds himself repeating the words her mother had told her when she woke in the hospital, after Berlin.

"You're safe now." He says, then adding on something entirely of his own. "You're home."

By the way River's shoulders sag in relief and her breath seems to be actual breathing instead of choked-off, gasping sounds it is clear that she believes him.

"Hang on a minute," Rory jerks back and looks her dead in the eye, a touch of hysteria joining in. "River, you jumped off a building!"

The tips of her lips curl upward at his accusation. "That I did."

"But, but, but," Rory sputters, gaping at his very grown daughter and gesturing at her stomach with his hands. "You're with… with _child_!"

The tears are not yet dry on her eyes but his worry sets off a joy to her. She starts to laugh. It bubbles out of her and she's helpless too it. The giggles consume her entirely and he can only stand there and at least _try_ to appear adult and cross about such carelessness.

"This is no laughing matter." Rory scolds lamely. "You're carrying my unborn grandbaby in there!"

That comment sobers River from her giggling fit spectacularly.

"River," Rory places a gentle hand on her shoulder to keep her good and grounded. "What are you going to do?"

"I can honestly say I never expected this. And the way things look on my end he's going to keep getting younger. And…. And I can't."

Once again Rory is reminded how much older she is from where they'd last seen her. This _is_ River Song in front of him, not one who is just becoming, and it's as if she is still somehow just as lost.

"I know what has to be done, I've already made an appointment at a hospital, but," She looks down at her stomach and a genuine smile warms up her face. "For now I think… I'd like someone to be with me while it lasts and… and I'd sort of counted on that person to be you." She admitted. "I expected you to be farther on in our timeline but, well, here we are."

He can see her. That lost little girl in the spacesuit. The one whose nappies he never got to change and whose monsters took her before he could scare them away.

"I'm your dad, River." He tells her. "And there's nowhere else I'd rather be."

She smiles. "We're sorted then?"

Rory takes her hand and says it again. "You're home. River, you're home now."

River exhales slowly and gives him a nod, another set of tears gathering and ready to fall from her eyes. "Good."

Her hand tightens around his and she asks what she should name it. Rory smiles back at her and plays along. "Anything but the Doctor Jr."

The rest of her visit is spent as such. A father and his daughter dreaming up images of and for the child in her womb… while it lasts.


	3. Grasping The Hands Of A Stranger

**Chapter Three:** Grasping The Hands Of A Stranger  
Characters: Rory, River, Amy, Twelfth Doctor/John Frobisher, original male character (Frost)  
Rated: PG-13 - WARNING **for violent imagery/violence**

Summary: _The Doctors friends always do as they're told, however, they had jumped ranks a long time ago._ – The Doctor's family goes to recover the body. (Doctor Who/Torchwood 'Children of The Earth' crossover)

**DISCLAIMER:** Not my characters. This has been a disclaimer.  
AN: _Next part will be a bit chipper, I promise._ Ha, so funny. Right, I didn't lie, I just ended up watching Torchwood again and shit happens man. Title and quote used from "Love & Misadventure" by Lang Leav.  
Warning for possible spoilers if you have not seen Torchwood "Children of the Earth" and a certain episode on Series 4 of Doctor Who because I'm also adding a little spin of my own concerning the Twelfth Doctor and Amy Pond... generally: SPOILERS. And no beta, unfortunately. :(

* * *

_"Then we reached a point where I no longer knew who you were and I was grasping the hands of a stranger. But I didn't let go."_

* * *

"You're sure it's him?" her mother had asked, back when they'd not even stepped a foot near that house, that room… that body. River understood her misgivings. John Frobisher. Everyone had heard of him and everyone knew what he had done.

"Yes." River had replied, tight lipped but firm.

Her father had come up beside her, placing a hand at her shoulder and nodding. "Then we know what we have to do."

And so here they were. The three of them – some sort of special police, or so their badges said – moving quickly and efficiently through the gaining mob outside of the Frobisher home. The cameras were everywhere, making it nigh impossible to move without being spotted or taken to document but there had been no other option. They had to get him out of there.

River had done her fair share of homework on the happenings that took place and the people charged to the case. Specifically, Elliot Frost, who would be head commander of the crime scene. She'd have to get through him to get anywhere near the body.

According to accounts, this Frost was a difficult man on a regular day but perhaps this tragedy would soften his spirit enough to let some unknowns slip in and do a bit of his job for him. It's a horrible thing to wish upon, yes, but going on the task at hand she hopes for a way out that wouldn't constitute trying too hard. Something quick, something to make it easier to bear. The less struggle the quicker they could get on with it and all the sooner it would be over.

Upon arriving at the scene, River scanned the perimeters. It was with a sigh of relief that she did not spy Jack Harkness amongst the crowd. He did not seem to be inside either. She sent a confirming glance back at her parents before setting in direction of the chief of police. He was talking to another one of his officers by the time she reached him but she slid in-between the two of them easily. She read the nametag on him for accuracy's sake before extending her hand.

"Commander in chief, I presume." She said by way of greeting. "We're here for the body."

Elliot Frost blinked harsh, unsympathetic eyes at her, giving her a proper one over before replying. "And just who the damned hell are you supposed to be?" he demanded testily.

River dug into her own jacket pocket. "Agent Malone." She flashed the psychic paper at him. "I've been sent to recover the body of John Frobisher at once and without delay."

Frost snatched the item from her grasp rudely and glared down at it but River didn't flinch. She remained still as stone.

"Yours should clear the room while you're at it." River suggested. "I'm sent with strict instructions for this to be handled with the upmost privacy."

"You having a bloody laugh?" He flung the psychic paper back at her.

River did smile then and it made for a blood-curling sight. "Oh, Mister Frost, if I found four innocent victims, two of which are children, hilarious in any way, shape or form I guarantee you you'd have a very different sort of psychopath at this front door right now."

Frost's lips curled into a nasty smile as well. "I believe you mean _three_ innocent victims," He snarled out at her. "Frobisher pulled the trigger, or don't you read reports?"

"John Frobisher was a good man." She replied evenly.

Frost chuckled darkly, "And good men ruin the lives of everyone they hold dear then, do they?"

She would not dignify that with a response. The two stared at one another. Frost's eye gave a twitch but he didn't seem to have any intent of standing down. It was impressive, she'll give him that.

"Alright then," River shrugged, "I can see we are going to have a problem here. I'll just have my assistant give the Prime Minister a ring, do excuse me."

Frost's brutish hand was curling around her arm before she could even move a muscle, holding her in place. His face was flushing with poorly concealed rage, even the coopers beside him were stilling to take in the small spectacle he was making of himself. River could spot her father not very far off, Amy at his side. Rory looked positively livid.

"My, my," Said River, "this is _very_ forward of you, commander."

Frost let go of her, pulling away as if her words had stung him. The scowl deeply set in his features did not wash off, if anything it looked more permanently set. He ran a palm over his plump face before calling one of his own. "Daniels!" he hollered. "Escort this lot to Frobisher." River raised her brow and Frost glared at her some more before finally ordering for the room to be cleared as well.

River leaned in with smile, her words a sensual purr in his ear, "Thank you for your cooperation."

He turned his face away, disgusted, and then stalked off. Her mother was beside her in seconds.

"Well that was harsh." Amy commented. "His pants will still be in a twist when he's ninety."

"He got off easy, believe me." River replied coolly, never losing focus. "Let's get this done."

The Ponds were escorted upstairs to a bedroom where the name of one of Frobisher's daughter hung decorating the door. The last of the police unit working inside scurried off at the sight of them, shutting the door as they exited.

The three of them stared at the closed door before River took a deep breath and started to move towards it, her hand reaching out and fitting over the doorknob. Amy reached out and grabbed her. River looked from Amy to Rory, confused.

"Maybe…" Amy said, "Maybe you shouldn't. Maybe this… there could be another way."

She could see the desperation in her mother's eyes, a silent begging not to do this.

"We don't know what we'll find in there." Rory supplied, backing Amy's cautions.

Oh, but River did know and so did they. The Doctors friends always do as they're told, however, they had jumped ranks a long time ago.

"There's no one else." River answered softly, the harsh truth of it. "You don't have to do this." She assured them with all her heart. "But _I_ do." Then she said, even quieter, "I'm his wife."

River turns back around, resuming her stance at the door before her mother had pulled her back, and opens the door.

There he is, the only one in the body bag that's not been zipped up yet.

She stands at the door for god knows how long, just looking, because how could she not? Slowly she steps inside. Gradually she gains the courage to step closer. Her parents are just outside, they want to grant her a sense of privacy, but she can't do this without them so she calls them to her. Rory shuts the door behind them.

"Oh god," says Amy, when sight of the Doctor comes into full view. Her palm is cupping over her mouth as if she doesn't want anything else to come spilling out. River feels her dad's arm come around and give her shoulder a gentle squeeze. She's more than sure he's got a handful of her mother on the other end but she doesn't glance to check. She keeps her eyes on her husband, her very still and seemingly lifeless husband.

"Is he… does he have any regenerations left?" Rory asks.

"Yes." River answers, kneeling down and unzipping the bag some more before running a hand over the blood stained shirt clinging to the Doctor's chest. Her palm rests atop the bullet wound. "But he's not dead."

"They seem pretty sure he is." Amy comments, trying to look anywhere but the body of her dearest friend and the other three body bags that are also in the room.

Rory joins River beside the body, pressing his fingers to the Time Lord's pulse and finding none. "River…"

"His heart is dead, yes," River doesn't look away from the body of John Frobisher and she searches his pockets, "but just one of them. We can save him." She pulls free a fob watch from his trousers. "We will."

"Okay, but how?" Rory demands. He's not liking the far-away, hysterical gaze River has fallen under.

"Simple." River tucks the fob watch away before grabbing John Frobisher's glasses. She slides them inside her jacket pocket easily and then starts running her fingers through the grey hairs that had come along with this new, older face. She traces over the wrinkles that have lined his eyes and her fingertips run over the shape of his lips. "We hide him until he's better."

It's Amy who asks this time. "How?"

She's gone eerily quiet and her parents share a look.

"River," Rory tries, noticing the tears gathering in his daughter's eyes. He grabs her hand away from stroking the Doctor's face and gives her a tough shake. "River, we have to focus!"

She blinks, tears streaming down her cheeks without permission. She looks up to find her mother in a similar state and wipes away at her tears furiously, nodding at her father and letting him help her up again.

"Alright," River takes a deep breath, "alright, I'm fine, I'm good." Rory doesn't believe her but neither does he voice it. "I think I've got a way out." says River, glancing at the Time Lord once more, "There's always a way out, isn't there?"

But her husband gives no answer. River explains the plan and they get to work.

_**X**_

"That is the last time I'm doing that!" Amy hollers at her daughter upon jumping into the Tardis, the red rags she'd had to wear dumped on the console floor the second she stepped inside.

"Oh, mother." Chides River, pulling levers and setting the coordinates back to home. When she finishes and catches proper sight of her mother the laughter bubbles out of her. Amy's got this ridiculous face paint on and it makes her look paler than she already is.

"_Oi_!" Amy stomps her foot angrily but that only makes the Tardis react too, joining in on the amusement with their River

"I'm sorry, mum, but your face!" River clutches at her ribs, tears of pure merriment stream her face.

Amy can't help but fill with joy at the sight. River had not been in the same spirits when she'd last seen her. Before she underwent the process of integrating herself into the Sibylline Sisterhood and a becoming a so-called soothsayer her daughter had been completely devastated by the events that had occurred. They'd gotten the Doctor out of Cardiff and River had produced another fob watch, different from the one at the crime scene, explaining that everything he had gone through and everything he knew would have to be extracted from him before he could get better. It was Rory – ever the Roman in him – that had suggested Pompeii.

"He's not likely to run in on volcano day anyway." Mister Pond had said with a shrug. They'd all agreed to that logic.

Well, Rory had been wrong. Spectacularly so, but by the time River had found that out, the Doctor – by this time calling himself Caecilius – was so integrated in his new life that there was no choice in moving him again. He'd even taken a new wife who had two children of her own by the time he met her. The Doctor had adopted them, giving them his own name so they were seen as legitimate by the higher and lower courts.

It was then that his younger Self came along with a woman called Donna Noble. Amy had to watch on as he, this Doctor that the world only knew as John Frobisher, encountered his beloved blue box again. He'd looked upon it with wonder, stroking the wood almost reflexively before inquiring at how much it was and having it moved to his home immediately.

Amy would have laughed if the situation was anything other than completely insane. The Doctor, not knowing he's the Doctor, nicking a magic ship without a second thought. So she watched, it's all she could do. Back and forth she went, to the Sisterhood and the Doctor. It was all she could do to keep ahead of him. Correction, keep ahead of _both_ of them. The leggy, spikey-haired maniac version of him almost went and found the fob watch! Had she not gotten there in time to fetch it from the stupid vase in the house their entire cover would have been blown to bits.

"I feel disgusting." Amy said finally, digging underneath the second, tighter tunic she was wearing and retrieving the prized fob watch. She went over to River and placed it in her daughter's palm before heading in the direction of the nearest shower.

"Mum," River called out.

"Hmm?" Amy looked back at her daughter.

"Thank you."

"Anytime." Amy smiled tiredly. "Except, you know… never again."

River nodded her acceptance of such and Amy went to rub off the horrible face-mask paint. There was no way in hell she was to meet her husband after months away looking like a big moonfaced soothsayer.

* * *

**_There, that was my own little twist at Karen Gillan being in The Fires Of Pompeii and the whole John Frobisher secretly being The Doctor theory, fob watch and all. Believe what you will._**


	4. When Our History Was Before Us

**Chapter Four:** When Our History Was Before Us  
Characters: Rory, River, Amy, Tenth Doctor  
Rated: G

Summary: _Two solid months had passed since the whole Rory walking out and the divorce papers being served incident, but then the Doctor showed up and the Dalek Asylum happened. They were back on track now, good as new. And what other way to celebrate than to have their daughter over for her father's birthday?_ - The Ponds have planned a proper dinner between themselves and their daughter for Rory's birthday only they are interrupted by a blue box and a Doctor too young to know their names.

**DISCLAIMER:** Not my characters. This has been a disclaimer.  
_AN1_: Okay, so this was a bit unusual, taking place ALL OVER THE PLACE, but hopefully it is somewhat translatable. Takes place after Asylum of The Daleks for the Ponds. Title from 'Love & Misadventure' by Lang Leav. See the end for the Doctor & River's placing in times. No beta so sorry for the mistakes, etc.

* * *

The dinner table was set and ready for three occupants, the only setback was Amy had gone and forgotten the cake she had baking in the oven. She eyed the ruined birthday cake with its black edges and smoky scent while her perfectly manicured fingernails tapped at her chin. After minutes of indecision, she decided it best to send an SOS of sorts to the only person who'd have her back without question and whom would also happen to be joining them for dinner that night.

"Amy!" Rory hollered at her from the upstairs bedroom, breaking her concentration. "Amy, have you seen my blue shirt?"

Her main focus was at the sight in front of her, the crusty, no-good-for-anyone-now cake, but she shouted back up at Rory anyway. "Didn't you burn that one in that starship that one time?"

Rory replies something or other but she can't worry on that now. She squints harder at the ruined birthday cake and throws it in the bin where it belongs. She goes to see to the table and thankfully finds nothing amiss to her eyesight. The plates were spotless, old family ones given to her by her own mother. She figured they'd add a sort of homey touch, whatever that meant. Rory had been adamant on placing the utensils properly for once and so for love of him she'd followed his wishes. The table was good and new, everything looked fine.

Suddenly, Rory stepped up in her way and she jumped at his sudden proximity.

"_Oi_!" She squeaked somewhat angrily, swatting him across the chest reflexively. "Don't scare me like that!"

"I've been calling out for the past few minutes." He said in his own defense, his hand coming up to pat gently at where Amy had struck him. "And _ouch_."

"Sorry." Amy cracked an apologetic smile. "You just, you don't sneak up on Scottish women, Rory. Not when they're planning a great, extravagant birthday dinners."

"Getting that." He mumbled, eyes resting down on the two pair of dress shirts he had with him. "Anyway," he held both shirts up for her to inspect, "dressing to impress. How exactly does that work again?"

Amy grinned at his scowling before taking the shirts from him and looking them over. One was a dark shade of green with little square decorative prints all over it and the other was a plain white dress shirt.

"We've not entertained in ages." He commented aloud while she fitted the first shirt over his chest to get an idea of it. She did the same with the white and contemplated in silence. "Amy, are you sure this is a good idea? I mean, I know it's just River and she could care less but still..." Rory chewed on his bottom lip nervously. "Getting together so soon after… well, after everything, and we've not talked about it all."

The worry in him did not help ease her own anxieties but Amy found herself answering with more confidence than she really felt.

"Of course!" she assured him, throwing the colored shirt over her shoulder before he could make a grab at it. "And this is the one you should wear." Amy pressed the white onto him. "There. Now off you go, Mister Pond." she shooed him away. "Lest our daughter arrive and catch you in nothing but your pants."

"You know," Rory mused just before he left the room, "the way the Doctor pops in and out it's a wonder that's not happened yet."

Amy did have to agree with that one.

Two solid months had passed since the whole Rory walking out and the divorce papers being served incident, but then the Doctor showed up and the Dalek Asylum happened. They were back on track now, good as new. And what other way to celebrate than to have their daughter over for her father's birthday?

Suddenly the nagging feeling she'd braved through for Rory crept up in her gut again. His nervousness wasn't exactly illogical. They hadn't cleared the air with River about what had taken place and their daughter had come around plenty since then. River had been very guarded at first, observing every interaction both her parents had. Of course, she and Rory were guilty of finding ways to avoid the subject. Mister Pond took to spoiling River rotten with gifts and attention while Amy took up all sorts of new (and questionable) hobbies that she would then chatter about nonstop, and then the time travelling just seemed to happened in-between all of that. Before the three of them knew it, everything kept happening and no one had dared to confront the unspoken. It was time to clear the air now. River was a big girl but she more than deserved that much.

Amy's pulled out of her overthinking by a knock at the front door. River, never one to let her mother down, has the most extravagant cake Amy's ever seen in hand.

"What would I do without you?" said Amy, and led her daughter inside. Amy instructed her to set the cake on the center of the table. River produced an overly large bottle of wine from her tiny purse when the cake was in place.

"Bigger on the inside." River explained with a nonchalant shrug.

Amy reached for the bottle excitedly. "Oh, you are so my favorite person in the world!"

"A gift from a member of the Royal family." River told her mother, handing it over and following her into the kitchen.

Amy grinned, searching for the wine glasses in the top cupboards. "Meaning you stole it."

"It's not like they'll need it anyway." River defended while accepting the glass handed to her. "Not like you do right now."

Amy stilled and glanced at her daughter. River was pointedly looking at the floor.

"We're fine, River." She promised.

"Of course," River agreed, though halfheartedly. "You always are."

"Hey," Amy placed her own glass down and reached to lay a hand on River's arm, finding herself at a loss for what to say. Really, this was the hard part. She wasn't made for this kind of stuff, she never had been, but River was her daughter and damn it if she didn't try.

Amy opened her mouth to speak only they were interrupted by the familiar sound of the Tardis landing.

"You invited him?" the Pond women asked in unison. Quite clear that neither of them had, both women now rushed to see what exactly it could be that had dragged their Raggedy Man to them this time.

They found the Tardis out back but it was River who sought out and grabbed at her mother's wrist before Amy could go banging on the front doors like she always did.

"What's wrong?" Amy asked, noticing how taken aback her daughter looked. "River, what is it?"

"Spoilers." River replied softly before setting her eyes on her mother. River crowded closer and whispered, "Mum, whatever happens, I need you to uphold Rule One." River instructed. "Go inside and tell dad the same. Wait until I go get you, alright?"

Amy wanted to ask on more but the look in her daughter's eyes forced her to stay silent on such matters. She gave a nod and went back inside to find Rory, leaving River behind, awaiting those familiar blue doors to open.

_**X**_

It was the Tardis that had clued River in. It needed a repaint and it _sounded_ different. This wasn't their Doctor inside that Tardis, but a different and much younger one. This one she'd met for a picnic in Asgard not so many moons ago.

After just one encounter with him she had gained enough knowledge to know for a fact that this specific version of the Doctor called for calm and collected River Song. This far along in his time, this man, with this face, was not looking for a wife or a lover but an equal. Well, she'd long ago proven a match enough for that. River braced herself.

Out he pops in a matter of seconds and he spots her instantly. His mouth fixes in the shape of an '_O'_ and his eyes grow wide, startled perhaps. He swaggers out of his Tardis anyway, all long and leggy, sticking his hands into his pockets and sniffing the air noisily through his nostrils.

"Professor Song." He utters, eyes setting on his surrounding and taking it in. She'd reckon his brain is probably making blueprints of the backyard this very second. He'd told her once, her Doctor, that he knew this place was for her parents before he even bought it for them. This surprise landing explains that at least.

"Hello, sweetie." River greets in return.

"Didn't expect to find you here." He says. The way he looks at her, she just can't place what it is that she doesn't like about it. "I wonder, what exactly is an archeologist doing here?"

"I could ask you the very same thing, my love." Little fibs could be made an exception for, she thinks, and continues, "But if you must know, I do sort of live here. I'm using the term 'sort of' very loosely, by the way."

He nods his head at her, bit by bit dragging himself nearer to where she stands. He is making it an issue, the inevitability of closeness, yet as much as she is fascinated with this face she's not in the mood to deal with any of his discomforts.

"Where have you just come from?" River asks him straight out. "Have you done Asgard?"

"No." he answers. "We have met though. I've got an idea of why the Tardis would bring me to you, actually. You seem to know a lot about me. Everything, really."

River does not confirm nor deny, she waits. The Doctor stares at her, scratching the back of his neck momentarily before a full smile breaks out across his face, whatever internal battle he's been waging long forgotten. Now he's just gleeful in her presence and wanting to share whatever is on his mind.

"I just saved Gallifrey." He confesses, catching her off guard. The laughter that bubbles out of him is a bit hysterical, shrouded with disbelief and after-effecting nerves. "God, I'm going to forget it soon," he babbles on, shaking a bit. "The time streams are out of sync – future me said – but I did it just now! We did it, and everybody lived!"

His long limbs move quickly until he's towering right over her. "River," he whispers, but his smile is gone and there are tears quickly gathering in his eyes. The rest comes out in a broken sob, "I just saved my planet."

Suddenly he's falling into her arms, his lanky body all angles she's not familiar with and she just barely latches onto him before he crumples onto the ground. His hands grab for her too, terrified and anxious and seeking for something sturdy to hold. All those lives he saved on Gallifrey are making themselves present. River shushes him and murmurs affections into his ear, holding onto him, this different Doctor, and knowing all too well how saving a life can weigh a pretty pound too.

**_X_**

"They're hugging now." Says Rory from where he stands peering out the upstairs window. "Or I think that's hugging. Gods, he's really skinny this go 'round. Who would have thought he could get skinnier?"

"Get away from there." Amy scolds. "And grant them a little privacy, would you?"

"Don't see why I have to," Rory muttered, "this is my house and he is my son-in-law. He _gave_ us this house!"

"River said Rule One," Amy reminded, "meaning this Doctor doesn't know us yet."

"Well, he knows her." Rory sighed, crossing his arms over his chest.

"He always knows her." Said Amy.

Rory shifted in his place. "Not always."

"And what's that supposed to mean?" Amy inquired, glaring at her husband.

"Nothing," Rory said quietly, shoving himself away from the window. "I'm just hungry and tired alright? Just forget I mentioned it."

"No, you tell me what you mean by that." Amy demanded, filling with concern. With Rory's continued silence, Amy's anxieties grew yet again. "So are we going to tell her about maybe stopping?"

Rory grunted, "What would that help? We've not even decided on it properly."

"She's a time traveler, Rory, and our daughter. She's got a right to know if we might stop."

"Amy," Rory shook his head sadly. They both stilled at the sound of the Tardis dematerializing. "We're going to talk about something big tonight and adding this in will just be another thing she has to worry over. We should tackle one obstacle at a time, yeah?"

_**X**_

"It was a lovely cake, River." Rory complimented when all three of their dinner plates were empty and they were all feeling good and fed.

"So," Amy swirled the glass of wine in hand carefully and raised her eyebrows playfully, "younger Doctor, eh?"

"Mother," River rolled her eyes, "don't start."

Amy's eyes went wide with innocence. "What's all this about starting? I'm his mother-in-law, I've rights."

"Least he has eyebrows." Rory muttered from behind his wine glass, taking a sip and setting it down again. "I saw eyebrows this time." He said, matter-of-factly.

River shook her head fondly and quipped, "I can never bring anyone home, can I?"

Rory smiled indulgently at that but did not comment. Amy however saw the chance to act while the mood was light.

"So, listen, about a few months back…" Amy started.

"We don't have to talk about it." River cut in. "Honestly, the past is the past, happing here and now and back then and someday, back to front, what matters is this, us. We've made it this far together and apart and I think that's what matters." She raised her glass to her father. "So I hereby toast a happy birthday to dad. May we all have many more years of the wibbly-wobbly goodness this family so adores, and let us make history of today and tomorrow and yesterday."

Amy and Rory looked at each other, silent for a moment, before Amy raised her own glass, biting back any comment to the contrary of what River had said.

"I can live with that." She said before taking a very long sip.

Rory took Amy's lead, agreeing. "Here, here. To many more."

* * *

_AN2: _For River this takes place after the Pandorica and for the Tenth Doctor after the 50th. River has done Asgard in this fic but the Doctor has not done anything but the Library, which means Asgard is next for him.


End file.
